Demountable freight container



Get. 15, 1935. B. F. FITCH 2,017,057

DEMOUNTABLE FREIGHT CONTAINER Filed NOV. 13, 1931 Patented Oct. 15, 1935g 7 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DEMOUNTABLE FREIGHT CONTAINER BenjaminF. Fitch, Greenwich, Conn., assignor to Motor Terminals Company,Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application November 13,1931, Serial No. 574,745

2 Claims. (Cl. 105-366) This invention relates to a demountable autobeseparate sheets, as readily understood. In mobile body adapted for useinterchangeably on any case, they are properly reinforced at their ahighway truck or a railway fiat car. When meeting edges, as by theinternal angle beam 32 mounted on the flat car for transportation in aof Figs. 2 and 3, or the external member 34 of 5 train, which mayinclude box cars, it is desira- Fig. 4. 5

ble that means be provided to enable the train- The inwardly extendingwall portions 35 and men to mount readily to the top of the container 36of the recesses provide means for supporting so that, in moving along atrain, they will not the ladder rungs at one end. To support them athave to work their way alongside of the conthe other end, I may use anyof several supports tainers. On the other hand, when the containercarried by the container wall adjacent the coris used on the automobiletruck, it is desirable ner. Thus, as shown in Fig. 2, I have providedthat there be no external projections which might this corner with twooutwardly extending angle encounter some obstruction either intransportabars 40 and 4|, and the ladder rungs are contion or in placingthe container on the truck or tinuous bent rods 50 extendingintermediately removing it therefrom. through openings in the angle bars4|] and 4| The present invention accomplishes the deand near their endsthrough openings in the sired results by providing the container with awall offsets 35 and 36, the ends of the rods prefladder which is setinto a vertical recess inthe erably having nuts 5| for holding themtightly container so as not to project materially beyond in position.

the container wall and at the same time is ex- In place of the two anglebars 40 and 4| of 20 ternally accessible for use. My invention is moreFig. 2, I may provide a single web 44 formed infully described in thefollowing specification, retegral with the external angle bar 34 of Fig.4, ferring to embodiments illustrated in the drawthis web extendingoutwardly at 45 to the sides ing. and ends. The ladder rungs 53 in thiscase also In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a extendcontinuously from the end ofiset 36 25 fiat car equipped with twocontainers embodying through openings in the web 44, and thence parthisinvention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged horizontal allel to the side, andthrough the side offset 35, section on a plane indicated by the line 2-2on the rod having on its end the nuts 54 for pulling Fig. 1; Figs. 3 and4 are details in horizontal it tight.

section through one corner of the container illus- In place of thesingle bent rod to make a 30 trating slightly difierent ways of mountingthe ladder rung on both the side and the end, I may ladder rungs.provide separate rods as illustrated in Fig. 3.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the container A, This figure illustrates alsoa diiferent form of which may be mounted on the flat car B or on acorner support for the rungs, comprising a holsuitable truck, has afloor frame l0, side walls ll, low box made by outward and returnflanges 45, end walls l2, and a suitable roof l3. Secured to 46, on theside and end, d an external e nthe side walls are upright straps l5terminating forcing angle 48. The rungs have their supports in hooks toenable the container to be lifted, in the inward ofisets 35 and. 36, andin the coras desired. responding outward flanges, and, as shown, are Thecontainer is provided with suitable doors, suitably anchored to preventlongitudinal shift- 40 as indicated by the doors 20, in the sides of theing. As illustrated, each rung has a shoulder 51 car, and the doors 2|at the ends. In each case, which abuts the vertical reinforcing strip 58the exterior of the doors is substantially flush adjacent thecorresponding offset of the wall, with the corresponding container wall,the door and on the end the rung has a nut 59 for pulling jambprojecting inwardly into the container. the shoulder tightly against thereinforcing strip. 45 This jamb may be formed by a Z-bar construc- Itwill be seen that, in any of the embodiments tion 23 as shown in Fig. 2.shown, I have provided an effective ladder lea-d- Ladders are preferablyprovided at diagonally ing from the bottom of the container and readilyopposite corners of the container, both on the accessible to one on thecar floor whereby he may side and on the end. To this purpose, I inseteasily climb to the container roof. These ladthe side wall, as shown at30', and. the adjacent ders, by being mounted on diagonally opposite endwall, as shown at 3|. These inset walls may, corners, both on the sidesand ends, cause a car comprise portions of the corresponding walls ofcarrying these containers to correspond to the the container, bent firstinwardly, as at 35 or usual box car practice, irrespective of the direc-36, and then parallel with the wall, or they may tion in which thecontainers are placed.

d a. A

It will be noticed that the amount of insetting of the pockets back ofthe ladder rungs is substantially the same as the insetting of the doorjambs for the container doors. Accordingly, the end ladder usesmerelyspace which was of practically no use for loading the container,as the package freight would not ordinarily be in small enough units tooccupy such space, while the space for the side ladder does not muchreduce the available capacity of the container.

I claim: a e

1. A demountable freight container adapted for mounting interchangeableon a railwayflat car or a highway truck, said container having avertical depression in one wall adjacent a corner of the container and aladder having its rungs in said depression, said rungs being supportedat one end by the offset portion of the container wall at the edge ofthe vertical recess distant from the corner, the other end of the rungsbeing supported by means extending beyond them so that the ladder isbetween vertical protecting members. 7

2. A demountable freight container adapted for mounting interchangeableon a railway fiat car or a highway truck, said container having verticaldepressions formed in both the side wall and the end wall of thecontainer adjacent the corner, and ladder rungs extending around thecorner and lying at both they side and the end in said depressions.

BENJAMIN F. FITCH.

